It has taken almost 40 years, but the complete professionalism of big time college athletics is finally here.  This past week a federal judge in Tennessee has barred the National Collegiate Athletic  Association (NCAA) from any role in enforcing its rules prohibiting the use of name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation in recruiting prospects, thereby […]

At the conclusion of national signing day for college football recruits, Alabama football coach Nick Saban says he laments the new “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) compensation policy for players, saying “when we start using NIL for a kid to come to our school, that’s where I draw the line, because that’s not why we […]

When I wrote last month on the latest blow, and maybe the final one, to amateurism in big time college sports (“Memo to the NCAA–It’s Over”), little did I know that within the past ten days would begin the unfolding of what will almost  certainly be the most complete overhaul of college sports as we […]

I’ve written extensively over the years about college athletics and there is not really much to add to the narrative, which, given all the mistakes in strategy to control the greed and perverse incentives in college sports over the past couple of decades, has played out pretty much as I expected–the slow death of amateurism […]

From some of the reporting, we are supposed to be shocked at the recent announcement that the three-year investigation of college basketball by the FBI that had produced several indictments for bribery and conspiracy has now revealed thousands of dollars in payments by prospective agents and recruiters to current and former college basketball players from […]

The “take a knee” salute to our national anthem during NFL pre-game ceremonies hit a new level after President Trump weighed in with his comments in a campaign speech in Alabama, as players across the country have generally acted in solidarity with their colleagues in protest of his suggestion that any player taking a knee […]

I wasn’t going to write about this, but it has dragged on far beyond the one 24-hour news cycle it deserved, so I can’t ignore it.  Let’s acknowledge the obligatory nod to San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick’s civil right to protest his grievances in whatever peaceful way he chooses, even in so ignorant and ungrateful […]

As if it doesn’t have enough to worry about in its primary mission to govern college athletics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has now discovered a new addition to its purpose in life–the policing of local cultural norms in its administration of college sporting events.  In this new role, it has recently pulled seven […]

Mark the date: The recent court ruling against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the O’Bannon case combined with a decision by the NCAA in effect creating a division of “superconferences” will serve as the impetus for the acceleration of the downward spiral of the highest levels of college athletics into farm systems for […]

Let me begin by admitting that, as a fan of college athletics, I followed the autograph signing case of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel  pretty closely, but I don’t have anywhere near all the facts and I couldn’t care less about the recent eligibility settlement of the case with the NCAA.  However, there are larger […]